The Internet is a busy place. Information and entertainment, in any combination, abound throughout the web — all competing for a portion of the same limited number of retinas. While we at WesternJournalism.com are blessed with thousands of faithful readers each day, science suggests there are a few specific reasons you have chosen to read this particular post.

5. The Human Brain Loves Lists

From the outset, research indicates many of you were drawn in by the title of this article. As has become increasingly common online, this post is organized in a way that uniquely appeals to mankind’s inquisitive nature.

Though some detractors abhor the prevalence of lists, social media experts have pinpointed a few reasons that, by and large, people gravitate toward the organization these posts provide. They allow readers to amass information without the need for a narrative, meaning it takes less time to feed our brains with useful knowledge. Summarizing information provides order, giving the consumer the option to scan for relevant information and easily comprehend the stated purpose of a post.

4. The Adorable Image

The irresistible image accompanying this article perhaps played a role as important as its title in your decision to click on this post.

There are entire websites devoted to cuteness in many forms – most commonly puppies and kittens. No less than Yale University researchers have attempted to determine why people almost universally react to an image of something so cuddly. As LiveScience.com reported, the sight of something overwhelmingly adorable causes people to experience a phenomenon known as “cute aggression.”

Yale researcher Rebecca Dyer described it as “almost a sense of lost control.”

Participants in the study were shown cute, funny, and neutral photographs while holding bubble wrap. According to the results, individuals did a lot more popping when viewing the cutest images, signaling an inherent need to squeeze something when confronted with cuddly creatures. That mental call for action is what attracts readers to articles accompanied by cute photographs.

3. You Trust Us

The main reason we have been so successful in reaching a wide audience is our commitment to providing relevant data that many sources choose to ignore or misconstrue. While much of our content is political in nature, assertions made in even more casual articles like this one are based on reliable sources and independent research.

Content, according to a common media adage, is king. Experts acknowledge, however, that distributing content is equally as important. Based on that factor, the next item on this list might be the most important reason you are reading this article.

2. Your Friends Shared It

Social media has revolutionized the world in just the last decade. More than nine in 10 business marketers rely on sites like Facebook and Twitter to get their messages out to the public. This makes sense, considering social media is where today’s consumers are.

Interacting on such sites is now the most popular activity on the web – overtaking the previous champion, pornography viewing, in recent years. Much of our traffic, like virtually any other online media outlet, comes from our readers sharing content with their friends and families via social media.

For that reason, we encourage you to share this, along with any of our other articles you find informative or intriguing, with those in your social sphere of influence. After all, you are the reason we dedicate so much time to providing accurate, engaging content every day – which brings us to the final reason you are reading this article…